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The College Football playoff ranking committee has spoken, and Alabama remains the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, followed by Oregon. Florida State continued its drop, finishing this week at No. 4 It also appears that TCU benefited the most from Mississippi State's loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl as the Horned Frogs took over the third playoff spot.
Most importantly for Mississippi State, their ranking plays a large role in where the Bulldogs will go bowling.
One has to think that puzzle may have been solved now that the Bulldogs have fallen behind the Michigan State Spartans in the rankings.
With the Bulldogs holding the No. 10 ranking, this puts them behind he No. 8 Spartans, and with neither team having a game left, one would assume that Michigan State will stay ahead of the Bulldogs. Even if Mississippi State could leap over Michigan State, one has to wonder if No. 5 Ohio State would remain ahead of them, even with a loss in the Big Ten Championship.
Since the Orange Bowl bid for the opponent of the ACC representative goes to the highest-ranked non-champion from the Big Ten/SEC/Notre Dame, all appears set for the Spartans to make a trip to Miami.
Since Mississippi State is still in the top-ten, this all but assures them of a birth in either the Cotton, Fiesta, or Peach bowls. Given the consideration of geography, at this point, one would assume the Bulldogs will travel to North Texas or Atlanta.
For SEC fans rooting for a team to play for the national championship, all hopes may rest on Alabama winning the SEC. With Missouri ranked at No. 16, it is unlikely for them to jump into one of the top-four positions.
For more on the playoff, visit SBNation.com
| Rank | Team | Last week | Week 14 result | Final opponent | If the season ended today ... |
| 1 | Alabama (11-1) | 1 | Won 55-44 vs. No. 15 Auburn | Missouri | Sugar Bowl vs. Florida State |
| 2 | Oregon (11-1) | 2 | Won 47-19 at Oregon State | Arizona | Rose Bowl vs. TCU |
| 3 | TCU (10-1) | 5 | Won 48-10 at Texas | Iowa State | Rose Bowl vs. Oregon |
| 4 | Florida State (12-0) | 3 | Won 24-19 vs. Florida | Georgia Tech | Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama |
| 5 | Ohio State (11-1) | 6 | Won 42-28 vs. Michigan | Wisconsin | New Year's bowl |
| 6 | Baylor (10-1) | 7 | Won 48-46 vs. Texas Tech | Kansas State | New Year's bowl |
| 7 | Arizona (10-2) | 11 | Won 42-35 vs. No. 13 Arizona State | Oregon | New Year's bowl |
| 8 | Michigan State (10-2) | 10 | Won 34-10 at Penn State | None | Orange Bowl vs. Georgia Tech* |
| 9 | Kansas State (9-2) | 12 | Won 51-13 vs. Kansas | Baylor | New Year's bowl |
| 10 | Mississippi State (10-2) | 4 | Lost 31-17 at No. 19 Ole Miss | None | New Year's bowl |
| 11 | Georgia Tech (10-2) | 16 | Won 30-24 (OT) at No. 9 Georgia | Florida State | Orange Bowl vs. Michigan State |
| 12 | Ole Miss (9-3) | 19 | Won 31-17 vs. No. 4 Mississippi State | None | |
| 13 | Wisconsin (10-2) | 14 | Won 34-24 vs. No. 18 Minnesota | Ohio State | |
| 14 | Georgia (9-3) | 9 | Lost 30-24 (OT) vs. No. 16 Georgia Tech | None | |
| 15 | UCLA (9-3) | 8 | Lost 31-10 vs. Stanford | None | |
| 16 | Missouri (10-2) | 17 | Won 21-14 vs. Arkansas | Alabama | |
| 17 | Arizona State (10-2) | 13 | Lost 42-35 at No. 11 Arizona | None | |
| 18 | Clemson (9-3) | 21 | Won 35-17 vs. South Carolina | None | |
| 19 | Auburn (8-4) | 15 | Lost 55-44 at No. 1 Alabama | None | |
| 20 | Oklahoma (8-3) | 20 | Idle | Oklahoma State | |
| 21 | Louisville (9-3) | 22 | Won 44-40 vs. Kentucky | None | |
| 22 | Boise State (10-2) | 23 | Won 50-19 vs. Utah State | Fresno State | New Year's bowl |
| 23 | Utah (8-4) | 25 | Won 38-34 vs. Colorado | None | |
| 24 | LSU (8-4) | NR | Won 23-17 at Texas A&M | None | |
| 25 | USC (8-4) | NR | Won 49-14 vs. Notre Dame | None |